Publications

March 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Jack Smith (B): Becoming a Toyota Manager (I)

Jack Smith had a stellar career at Chrysler managing major design teams and manufacturing plants before deciding to join industry leader and benchmark Toyota. It is his first day on the job; what will his orientation entail? Cursory walkthroughs and introductions... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

25 Apr 2016
News

Can politicians really bring jobs "back" to the U.S.?

March 1992 (Revised February 1995)
Supplement

Introduction of FM Radio (C): The Empires Strike Back

Describes the concluding and bitter fight between Armstrong and the established radio manufacturing and broadcasting industry over the new, incompatible, and yet irrepressible FM technology. Illustrates the struggle between a corporation and an established system and... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

June 2013
Supplement

Elasto Therm: The Next Step (Video Supplement)

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Elasto Therm: The Next Step (HBS Case #813030). View Details

July 2013 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation has a horizontal firm structure in an industry that is predominantly organized vertically. While it has been successful in up markets, in the current down market its strategic rationale was being tested. As a capital-intensive... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Organizational Structure; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

March 2021
Supplement

Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (C)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). In 2019, after achieving all the goals set forward... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Alignment; Cooperation; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Goals and Objectives; Auto Industry; Latin America; South America; Argentina

March 1998 (Revised November 2004)
Case

FAG Kugelfischer-A German Restructuring

By: Stuart C. Gilson

A large German manufacturer of ball bearings and precision machinery experiences severe financial difficulty brought on by poor management practices, an ill-conceived acquisition of a former East German ball-bearings company, and an industry recession. The company... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Acquisition; Restructuring; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Machinery and Machining; Policy; Resignation and Termination; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Evaluation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Europe; Germany; United States

January 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Jamie O'Connell

Lincoln Electric, a 100-year-old manufacturer of welding equipment and consumables based in Cleveland, Ohio, motivates its U.S. employees through a culture of cooperation between management and labor and an unusual compensation system based on piecework and a large... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Restructuring; Transformation; Construction; Compensation and Benefits; Management; Market Entry and Exit; Labor and Management Relations; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio

Research Summary

The Servicification of the U.S. Economy: The Role of Startups versus Incumbent Firms

By: Karen Mills

Over the last few decades, the U.S. economy has exhibited a significant shift from manufacturing towards services. This transition has been particularly prominent in an important subcategory of services industries that drives innovation and employs many high-wage... View Details

March 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Jack Smith (A): Career Launch at Toyota

Jack Smith had a stellar career at Chrysler managing major design teams and manufacturing plants before deciding to join industry leader and benchmark Toyota. It is his first day on the job; what will his orientation entail? Cursory walkthroughs and introductions... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

10 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Spatial Determinants of Entrepreneurship in India

Keywords: by Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr & Stephen O'Connell

July 2013 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Carl Zeiss and Free-Form Production: Can We See Clearly Yet?

By: Willy Shih

The prescription eyeglass lens industry was complicated and highly fragmented, and even though many of the tools and techniques employed have been relatively unchanged over the last century, there was still a surprising pace of innovation. An aging population around... View Details

Keywords: History; Demand and Consumers; Disruptive Innovation; Vertical Integration; Theory; Technology Adoption; Health Industry

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

versus to consumer households. They grouped industries into supply chain versus business-to-consumer (B2C), to find the percentage of outputs in each of these areas. “We find that the supply chain economy is a distinct and large segment... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

May 2010
Case

Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Benjamin H. Barlow

Clayton Industries, a sixty-year-old U.S.-based firm in the HVAC industry (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), with nearly $1 billion in revenues, has gradually built a presence in a number of countries, including several in Europe. Peter Arnell, previously... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Conflict and Resolution; Sales; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Wisconsin; Italy; United Kingdom

August 1975 (Revised July 1983)
Case

Lincoln Electric Co.

By: Norman A. Berg

Covers the strategy and management practices of the world's largest manufacturer of welding equipment. Discusses the compensation system and company culture, and the leadership style of management. View Details

Keywords: Construction; Compensation and Benefits; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Nucleon, Inc.

By: Gary P. Pisano

Nucleon is a small biotechnology company whose first potential product is about to enter clinical testing. Before Nucleon can begin clinical trials, however, its management must decide how and where to manufacture the product. Three options are being contemplated: 1)... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Rights; Product Development; Production; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry